RISING business confidence looks set to reboot the market for commercial property in Nottingham, a report published today says.

And the hundreds of millions of pounds of public money that has been spent expanding the tram network, improving the railway station and widening the A453 could make it easier to do business here, according to the report.

The Market InSite analysis was being unveiled this morning by Innes England, a property consultancy based in Nottingham which advises firms about renting and buying premises.

The market for offices and industrial premises occupied by businesses was one of the worst hit by the credit crunch, with falling property values and plummeting business confidence reducing activity levels.

But Innes England says the market in Nottingham is now back on track, with a big rise in the number of deals involving small to medium-sized firms and signs that bigger deals might make a comeback.

Craig Straw, who is a director at Innes England's Nottingham office on the NG2 Business Park, said: "The industry experienced another challenging year in 2013, but we have been buoyed by the signs that confidence is returning across Nottinghamshire – with the out of town office sector the star performer.

"We are also starting to see the investment in the city's transport infrastructure become a reality.

"Work on key projects has progressed well throughout 2013 and we are set to benefit from improved transport links by the end of this year."

Despite the upbeat tone, Innes England's report says last year saw a "dramatic" 44 per cent drop in the amount of office space taken up in Nottingham city centre.

However, this figure can fluctuate widely because it sometimes involves a small number of big deals, and Mr Straw says it was the lack of transactions involving a high volume of space that brought the figure down.

Mr Straw also warned that demand for premises among industrial businesses was being held back because there was a lack of good quality buildings available, with tenants forced to look at older property.

But he says that the number of deals involving smaller, out-of-town offices shot up by 70 per cent last year – and that the market for bigger deals in the city centre is expected to climb back up.

Innes England's report says confidence also seems to be coming back to the market for shops, restaurants and cafes.

Matthew Hannah, the firm's director of retail and roadside property work, said Nottingham City Council's pledge to put £50m towards the redevelopment of Broadmarsh was a "very encouraging statement of intent", while the Victoria centre would be improved by a £40m investment by owners Intu.

He added: "We have also seen strong demand for units from the restaurant sector, with Cosmo the latest addition to Trinity Place.

"Out of town retail parks have also seen investment as the trend of developing former car parking areas has continued with Costa, Greggs and Subway opening at Meadow Lane retail park early on in the year, and more recently a revamped McDonald's, Frankie & Benny's, Greggs, Costa and Carphone Warehouse opening at Victoria retail park."

Mr Straw concluded: "As we progress through 2014 with the completion of several major infrastructure projects and investment in the retail offering I think we can be confident that the city will be well placed to take advantage of improving market conditions."